The Impact of Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the Car Industry

[jeniferarden]

Hello everyone,

Let's dive into a discussion about the profound impact that Electric Vehicles (EVs) are having on the automotive industry. With the global shift towards sustainable transportation, EVs have emerged as a pivotal force reshaping how cars are designed, manufactured, and used.

Here are a few key points to consider:

1. Technological Advancements: EVs represent a leap forward in automotive technology, incorporating innovations in battery efficiency, electric motors, and connectivity features. How are these advancements influencing traditional car manufacturers and their production processes?
2. Market Trends: With governments worldwide pushing for zero-emission vehicles and setting ambitious targets for EV adoption, how are traditional automakers adapting their strategies to compete with new, EV-focused manufacturers like Tesla?
3. Supply Chain and Infrastructure: The rise of EVs necessitates a robust infrastructure of charging stations and battery recycling facilities. How is the industry addressing these infrastructure needs, and what challenges lie ahead?
4. Consumer Behavior: What factors are driving consumers towards EVs, and what barriers still need to be overcome? Are concerns about range anxiety and charging times being adequately addressed by manufacturers?
5. Economic and Environmental Impacts: How do EVs contribute to reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality? Conversely, what are the economic implications for industries reliant on traditional internal combustion engines?

Join in to share your insights, questions, and perspectives on how Electric Vehicles are reshaping the automotive landscape. Let's explore together how this transformation is unfolding and what it means for the future of mobility.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Best regards,

 

[Alex Snyder]

1. Technological Advancements: EVs represent a leap forward in automotive technology, incorporating innovations in battery efficiency, electric motors, and connectivity features. How are these advancements influencing traditional car manufacturers and their production processes?
2. Market Trends: With governments worldwide pushing for zero-emission vehicles and setting ambitious targets for EV adoption, how are traditional automakers adapting their strategies to compete with new, EV-focused manufacturers like Tesla?
3. Supply Chain and Infrastructure: The rise of EVs necessitates a robust infrastructure of charging stations and battery recycling facilities. How is the industry addressing these infrastructure needs, and what challenges lie ahead?
4. Consumer Behavior: What factors are driving consumers towards EVs, and what barriers still need to be overcome? Are concerns about range anxiety and charging times being adequately addressed by manufacturers?
5. Economic and Environmental Impacts: How do EVs contribute to reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality? Conversely, what are the economic implications for industries reliant on traditional internal combustion engines?

This is a fun thought exercise. Before I respond to your bullets, I recently leased an EV. It wasn't for any other reason than being the best new car deal I've seen in over a decade.

1. For sure, EVs are a leap forward. Manufacturers have stuffed them full of creature comfort tech to help consumers believe that instead of just getting the benefits of fewer moving parts and not paying at a gas pump. However, production processes are more complicated, and resources come from places that might not share Western worldviews. There is quite a bit of hypocrisy at play.
2. Traditional automakers are already competing with Tesla, building better EVs. Tesla still lacks the experience of "fit and finish" while companies like Hyundai and Nissan are putting highly competitive models on the road. Tesla isn't the luxury EV it came to market as. Tesla also lacks the lobbying capabilities of all the other manufacturers. As for zero emissions... yeah, right! Pipedream. Assuming the politicians pushing this stuff stay in power, they will have to find a compromise, as EVs cannot power any supply chain reliably nor become affordable enough for the average citizen.
3. There is an incredible EV infrastructure where I live. Or so I thought. I do not have a Tesla, and I'm finding the chargers that work for my car are changing ownership all over the state. Where there were multiple Stage 3 chargers in my town, there is now only 1. It is always $0.43 KwH versus the $0.23 I pay at home during peak hours. Stage 3 charger = 35 minute fill up. Stage 2 charger = 14 hour fill up. I don't have time to sit at the Stage 2 charger. Tesla is supposed to be supporting my car, but that date continues to get pushed into the future. And let's not even mention the chargers promised by the US government and how often they're broken in places like California.
4. Range anxiety is a thing. My EV will only be used within a small driving radius because I cannot afford to spend the time it takes to recharge it on a trip. It is rare to see an open charger with the Tesla chargers being the exception. Although it costs me $20 to charge my EV for roughly 273 miles of range, our gas guzzler hauls 7 people comfortably, tows over 6,000 lbs, fills up in less than 3 minutes anywhere in the US, but costs $70 to fill. Convenience is tough to replace.
5. I don't buy the arguments EVs contribute to less pollution. Just because you don't see it coming out the tailpipe, doesn't mean it isn't going into the atmosphere in greater volume elsewhere.

I'm an advocate for an EV as an errand runner/daily driver, assuming you have the capability to charge it at home or work. It is super convenient within my household. But I don't advocate for an EV as your only vehicle. I don't advocate for EVs as world fixers. I don't advocate for EVs in most ways. If you can afford one and have something else to rely on in the driveway, then go for it.

Electric heat pumps, pushing for more electric appliances, and electric vehicles is already taxing our power grids. If we do not curb the incentives to push people into more electrification without addressing the needs of our power grids, the United States is going to have some rough times in the years ahead.

 

[Carsten]

I am fan of all 3 options:
EV, Hybrid, and Hemi.

What I do not want is what the future is going to bring:
1. surge pricing on insurance.
2. big brother
3. a massive change to some industries. (Waymo is having lots of positive experiences)